6-6-2019 KHWAI CAMP, BOTSWANA - WATTLED CRANE (Grus carunculata)

The wattled crane (Grus carunculata) is a large, threatened species of crane found in wetlands and grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia to South Africa. Some authorities consider it the sole member of the genus Bugeranus.

At a height known to range from 150 to 175 cm (4 ft 11 in to 5 ft 9 in), it is the largest crane in Africa and is the second tallest species of crane in the world, after the sarus crane. It is also the tallest flying bird native to Africa third only among all birds to the two species of ostrich. The wattled crane is taller and, despite the appearance of gracility imparted by its sharp but slim beak and slender neck and legs, is the heaviest on average of several very large, long-legged waders in Africa (i.e. the 2 largest African storks, shoebill, greater flamingo, goliath heron).[10] It is also roughly the fourth heaviest African flying bird after the great white pelican, the much more sexually dimorphic kori bustard and cape vulture.[10] The wingspan is 230–260 cm (7 ft 7 in – 8 ft 6 in), the length is typically 110 to 140 cm (3 ft 7 in to 4 ft 7 in) and weight is 6.4–8.28 kg (14.1–18.3 lb) in females and 7.5–9 kg (17–20 lb) in males.[11][12][13] Among standard measurements, the wing chord length is 61.3–71.7 cm (24.1–28.2 in), the exposed culmen is 12.4–18.5 cm (4.9–7.3 in) and the tarsus is 23.2–34.2 cm (9.1–13.5 in).

Going on standard measurements, it is the second largest proportioned crane after the sarus species, outsizing in these respects even the ostentatiously heavier red-crowned crane. Three adult wattled cranes averaged 8.15 kg (18.0 lb). The back and wings are ashy gray. The feathered portion of the head is dark slate gray above the eyes and on the crown, but is otherwise white, including the wattles, which are almost fully feathered and hang down from under the upper throat. The breast, primaries, secondaries, and tail coverts are black. The secondaries are long and nearly reach the ground. The upper breast and neck are white all the way to the face. The skin in front of the eye extending to the base of the beak and tip of the wattles is red and bare of feathers and covered by small round wart-like bumps. Wattled cranes have long bills and black legs and toes. Males and females are virtually indistinguishable, although males tend to be slightly larger. Juveniles have tawny body plumage, lack the bare skin on the face, and have less prominent wattles. The generation length (in years) is 13.

The wattled crane occurs in eleven countries in eastern and southern Africa, including an isolated population in the Ethiopia Highlands. More than half of the world's wattled cranes occur in Zambia, but the single largest concentration occurs in the Okavango Delta of Botswana.The wattled crane has been spotted in Uganda for the first time in 2011, seen in the Kibimba Rice region in the eastern side of the country. This sighting brings the total number of bird species in Uganda to 1040.

In April 2018, a new population of Wattled Cranes was discovered in Angola.

Wattled cranes inhabit fairly inaccessible wetlands under most conditions. It requires shallow marsh-like habitats with a good deal of sedge-based vegetation. All cranes are omnivorous. The principal food of the wattled crane is mainly aquatic eating the tubers and rhizomes of submerged sedges and water lilies. It is one of the more herbivorous of extant cranes. The other primary portion of the diet consists of aquatic insects. They will supplement the diet with snails, amphibians and snakes when the opportunity arises. Roughly 90% of foraging done by this species occurs in shallow waters. They typically forage by digging vigorously with their bill into the muddy soil. On occasion, it will eat grain and grass seed as well, but does so much less often than the other three African crane species.